The U.S. Air Force Does Not Have The Country’s Interest At Heart–Just Their Own

As a former U.S. Air Force pilot and USAF Academy graduate, I feel especially suited to write this article. I wasn’t just an Air Force pilot; I was an Air Force helicopter pilot. There is a world of difference between the world of a USAF rotorhead and the fighter community.

The service has historically been run by the “fighter mafia,” with few exceptions. When I selected helicopter training at the academy, I had an active duty officer in the Commandant’s office tell me, “I didn’t spend all this money on you so you could fly a helicopter.”

The fighter mafia’s goal is to perpetuate the role of the fighter pilot and the missions associated with fighter planes. Their goal is NOT to provide for the best use of airpower during wartime.

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This agenda is clearly highlighted by the Air Force’s campaign to retire the A-10 attack plane. The jet is ugly, slow, doesn’t usually carry air to air missiles, and usually spends its time below a few thousand feet on the battlefield. However, it is also the MOST EFFECTIVE ground attack and close air support weapon ever invented by mankind.

All you have to do is ask the thousands of American and allied ground troops who have been saved by this aircraft’s capabilities. It is also cheap to operate relative to new weapon systems being designed and fielded by the Air Force.

So what does the Air Force fighter mafia want to do? It wants to retire the aircraft, of course, and replace it with the new F-35.

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F stands for fighter. A stands for attack. The F-35 is a jack of all trades and will not be able to perform the close air support mission as effectively.

The F-35 is also hugely expensive. But the Air Force brass want as many of them as they can get, to the detriment of the GI on the ground with a rifle. So they’ve put the A-10 on the chopping block, selfishly I might add.

It gets better. Now, an Air Force general has been caught telling junior officers that providing information on the A-10 to Congress, which is trying to save the A-10, is tantamount to treason. This makes my point exactly.